Unit Textbook
M. Consalvo and C. Ess (eds). 2011.The Handbook of Internet Studies. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
M. Consalvo and C. Ess (eds). 2011.The Handbook of Internet Studies. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Module 1
"Everyday Life" and "Conclusion" sections (pp. 163 to 165) of Berger, A. A. (1995). Sociological Theory and Cultural Criticism. In Cultural Criticism: A Primer of Key Concepts. Sage Publications. In e-Reserve.
While this comes from a sociology rather than a humanities source, this is relevant and useful as a short summary of the study of everyday life. Especially pay attention to the different ways that 'everyday life' is defined. NOTE: You don't have to read it all, just pages 163 to 165).
Topic 1.1: Music: I Want My MP3
Laughey, D. (2007). Music Media in Young People's Everyday Lives. In Music, Sound and Multimedia: From the Live to the Virtual (pp. 172-187). In E-Reserve.
How is music interlaced with our everyday lives in general? What has been the impact of the Internet in the way music is used by young people privately and publicly (and the way this intermingles)?
David Beer. (2006, September 30). The Pop-Pickers Have Picked Decentralised Media: the Fall of Top of the Pops and the Rise of the Second Media Age. Social Research Online. Url: http://www.socresonline.org.uk/11/3/beer.html.
This article is a reaction to the end of the British television show, Top of the Pops and was written in 2006, what we'd like you to focus upon are the issues and trends Beer describes as contributing to the show's demise. Would the Internet necessarily work against broadcast media (i.e. radio and television)
Frank, J. (2009). Impact the listener in the first seven seconds. In Futurehitdna: how the digital revolution is changing top 10 songs (pp. 30-51). Futurehit: Nashville, Tennesee. Url: http://www.futurehitdna.com/
This is the first chapter from a book aimed at musicians that provides advice to musicians in the light of current music listening and discovery practices. Rather than assuming that people will encounter a song midway, as it is played on the radio, this chapter advises that, with the advent of MP3s and online music discovery and sharing services, the beginning of a song is critical to its success. What are some of the ways in which people encounter, discover and listen to music that are different from the past?
Topic 1.2: Games: At Work, No One Knows I am a Wizard
Geoffrey Brooks and various commentators. (2008, July 8). Counting Rupees: Korea bangs. Joystiq. Blog Post.
The blog author compares the gaming culture in Korea with the United States and speculates on some of the reasons for the differences.
Frans Mayra. (2008). The Real and the Game: Game Culture Entering the New Millenium. In An Introduction to Game Studies (pp. 118-151). London: Sage. In E-Reserve
This chapter provides a broad discussion of online games and an important text that is very likely to help you address the question fully.
"Lisa Nakamura is the Director of the Asian American Studies Program, Professor in the Institute of Communication Research and Media Studies and Cinema Studies Department and Professor of Asian American Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign.
She is the author of Digitizing Race: Visual Cultures of the Internet (University of Minnesota Press, 2008, winner of the 2010 Association of Asian American Studies Book Award in Cultural Studies), Cybertypes: Race, Ethnicity and Identity on the Internet (Routledge, 2002) and co-editor of Race in Cyberspace (Routledge, 2000) and Race After the Internet (Routledge, forthcoming 2011).
"
Topic 1.3: Dating, Intimacy and Sexuality
Pascoe, C.J. (2009). Intimacy in Mizuko, I et. al. Hanging Out, Messing Around, Geeking Out: Living and Learning with New Media (chapter is within the e-book in library)
How do youths growing up with the Internet form and conduct relationships these days? This reading takes us beyond online dating agencies and cybersex, into the realm of everyday life and intimacy.
Attwood, F. (2007). No Money Shot? Commerce, Pornography and New Sex Taste Cultures. Sexualities, 10(4), 441-456. doi: 10.1177/1363460707080982. In E-Reserve.
Do you agree with Attwood that the Internet has facilitated "new sex taste cultures"? What is the extent of the impact of the Internet on cultural norms surrounding ordinary, familiar, in other words, everyday, sex?
Topic 1.4: Health: What My Doctor Didn't Tell Me
Nettleton, S., Burrows, R., & O'Malley, L. (2005). The mundane realities of the everyday lay use of the internet for health, and their consequences for media convergence. Sociology of Health & Illness, 27(7), 972-992. In E-Reserve.
This article reports on some field research the authors have done on how people use the Internet. According to the authors, what are the main attitudes of people, both lay and health professionals, towards the use of the Internet for health? Their research was conducted in 2002, how much do you think what they say still applies?
Topic 1.5: Faith and Spirituality Online